This invention relates to a safety plate assembly for use with an electrical outlet.
Since the electrical contacts of the conventional electric outlet are continuously energized they represent a source of danger for electrical shocks and short circuits. While the prongs of an electrical plug are designed to be safely inserted within the outlet sockets, it is possible to cause a short circuit by insertion of a wire or other metal object into the sockets. Specifically, small children are frequently explorers and frequently, out of curiosity, insert bits of metal such as safety pins, hair pins, bits of wire or paper clips into the sockets in the outlet with resultant shock and possible injury.
One solution to this problem is the provision of plastic dummy plugs which plug into the sockets of the outlet to preclude the inadvertent insertion of pieces of metal into the sockets. However, these plastic dummy plugs are easily misplaced or broken and can be readily removed from the sockets.
Safety plate assemblies have also been proposed to replace the conventional cover plate for the outlet. The safety plate assemblies include a movable member which normally covers the sockets of the outlet but which can be readily moved to a position allowing insertion of the prongs of an electrical plug into the sockets of the outlet. Whereas the safety plate assemblies represent an improvement over the dummy plugs, they suffer from one or more disadvantages. Specifically, the prior art safety plate assemblies require the installation of special electrical outlets to accommodate the safety plate assemblies and/or they can be readily removed from the outlet so as to readily defeat their safety function and/or they are very difficult to operate to allow the insertion of the prongs of the electrical plug and/or they have a complex and expensive construction and/or they are prone to failure.